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Percocet Addiction

Since its release on the market in the 1990s, American doctors have prescribed the narcotic Percocet for patients facing moderate or severe pain associated with injury, surgery or dental procedures. The highly addictive properties of one of the main ingredients — oxycodone — however, have turned Percocet into one of the most misused medications on the market. As the American opioid epidemic continues to surge, Percocet is consistently cited as one of the main painkillers contributing to prescription drug abuse and addiction across the U.S.

Percocet is a brand-name prescription painkiller. Its active ingredients are acetaminophen and the opioid oxycodone. While some opioid drugs such as morphine and heroin are developed naturally from the opium poppy plant, oxycodone is synthesized in a lab. Endo Pharmaceuticals purchased Percocet from The DuPont Merck Pharmaceutical Company in 1997.

Doctors use Percocet as a painkiller, however, the drug can be so addictive, it is only legally available via prescription. Like other narcotics, Percocet is highly addictive because it attaches to the opioid receptors in the brain, triggering dopamine and associated feelings of happiness and euphoria. Percocet is so powerful, in some cases those who begin taking it with a legitimate medical prescription end up developing an addiction to the drug.

Opioids like Percocet are also dangerous because of the associated side effects. Percocet is a depressant, which can cause slowed heart rate, slowed breathing and drowsiness.

Doctors prescribe Percocet to patients experiencing moderate to moderately severe pain. According to the Percocet drug label, the medication is only recommended if the pain is severe enough and alternative treatments won’t work. Patients may also require Percocet if they have not previously tolerated or are not expected to tolerate alternatives, or if alternatives have not or are not expected to provide adequate pain reduction. Percocet is not recommended for patients with:

Percocet is only available in pill form. The tablets have the brand-name imprinted on one side, as well as the number of milligrams of oxycodone. When DuPont still owned Percocet, the pills also had the company name imprinted on them. Varying formulations of Percocet differ in the amount of oxycodone in each pill. The amount of acetaminophen stays consistent — 325 milligrams per tablet. Percocet comes in several different concentrations that all have a unique look:

•2.5 mg/325 mg – Pink, oval tablets with “Percocet” imprinted on one side and “2.5” on the other.
•5 mg/325 mg – Blue, round tablets with “Percocet” imprinted on one side and “5” on the other.
•7.5 mg/325 mg – Peach, oval tablets with “Percocet” imprinted on one side and “7.5” on the other.
•10 mg/325 mg – Yellow, capsule-shaped tablets with “Percocet” imprinted on one side and “10” on the other.

Percocet addicts may swallow the pills whole, chew them to increase absorption, or crush and snort the pills for faster entry into the bloodstream. Addicts often hide pills in plain sight in traditional orange pill bottles, but they also hide Percocet in mint tins, candy jars or crushed as a powder.

While Percocet is legally available via a doctor’s prescription, those addicted to the drug also often get their supply on the streets, where the price per pill can range from $2 – $30. Addicts also sometimes buy Percocet online through the dark web, a sort of digital black market.

To avoid tipping others off to their addiction or getting attention from police, people often use street names or slang terms to refer to Percocet. Some nicknames or slang for Percocet are:

Percs
Paulas
Roxi
Blue dynamite

Percocet is also a brand-name form of oxycodone, which carries its own street names:

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Your call is confidential, and there's no pressure to commit to treatment until you're ready. As a voluntary facility, we're here to help you heal -- on your terms. Our sole focus is getting you back to the healthy, sober life you deserve, and we are ready and waiting to answer your questions or concerns 24/7.

After taking Percocet, the drug is detectable in a person’s blood, urine and saliva. The higher dosage and longer you’ve been taking Percocet, the longer it stays in your system and can be detected. Drug tests for Percocet detect oxycodone, not acetaminophen. In urine tests, Percocet can be found as soon as a few hours after ingesting and as long as two days afterward. Drug testers often prefer to use urine testing due to the convenience for the user and more accurate scientific results the sample provides.

Percocet will show up sooner in blood tests because the drug enters the bloodstream quickly. Scientists will be able to identify Percocet in the blood from a sample taken as soon as 15 minutes after a pill was ingested. Because urine samples last longer, scientists typically only use blood to test for Percocet if a person is unconscious.

In situations that require quick test turnaround, such as police drug testing, saliva is the most efficient way to test for Percocet. Law enforcement officials consider a saliva test to be advantageous when dealing with users who look to be drunk or high because Percocet can be identified very quickly. Saliva samples can also be sent to a lab later for testing.

•2.5 mg/325 mg – The adult dosage is one or two tablets every six hours as needed for pain management. The maximum daily dose is 12 tablets.
•5 mg/325 mg – The adult dosage is one tablet every six hours as needed for pain management. The maximum daily dose is 12 tablets.
•7.5 mg/325 mg – The adult dosage is one tablet every six hours as needed for pain management. The maximum daily dose is eight tablets.
•10 mg/325 mg – The adult dosage is one tablet every six hours as needed for pain management. The maximum daily dose is six tablets.

Percocet is a highly addictive opioid analgesic, or opioid-based drug that blocks some but not all pain. Oxycodone is one of two main ingredients in Percocet and is a synthetic opioid — a highly addictive substance. The body naturally creates opioids, which attach to special receptors in the brain and signal certain effects related feeling and emotion, such as feelings of calmness and reduced pain.

Opioid drugs like Percocet trick the brain into thinking they are natural opioids, latching onto the same opioid receptors and flooding the brain with dopamine, the neurotransmitter that causes these euphoric effects. Dopamine is associated with pleasure and signals feelings of happiness, but also affects motivation and cognition. While this effect is desirable in order to lessen pain, people can easily become addicted to this “high” and continue using opioids to carry on these feelings.

While some purposefully abuse Percocet to get high, others become addicted even if they are using the drug medically as prescribed by their doctor. In some cases, Percocet addiction develops due to an increased tolerance. As a person takes Percocet for pain management, it can soon require higher and higher doses to achieve the same effect. Continuing this habit for a long time can cause dependence on Percocet, when a person feels like they can’t live without the drug. Dependence and addiction often occur at the same time.

For some, it takes even less time to develop an addiction to Percocet if they are recovery from addiction to another opioid such as heroin or hydrocodone. While most doctors will take a person’s drug use history into consideration before writing a prescription, some circumstances such as an allergy to other pain medications may cause a doctor to choose to prescribe Percocet.

Percocet addiction is dangerous to a person’s quality of life on multiple fronts. The danger of Percocet addiction can affect a person’s finances, relationships, career, education and, most importantly, their health. Some of the more serious effects of Percocet abuse include:

Slowed breathing
Slowed heart rate
Risky behaviors
Legal trouble
Loss of job
Failure in school
Broken relationships with family or friends
Loss of custody of children
Bankruptcy
Coma
Death

If your doctor prescribes you Percocet, make sure to talk with them about any other medications you’re taking. In many cases, combining Percocet with other drugs can cause a negative interaction. Those who abuse Percocet can also endanger their health when taking the medication with other addictive substances, such as Vicodin, Xanax, marijuana and alcohol.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “The Opioid Epidemic: By the Numbers.” HHS.gov, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, June 2016, www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/Factsheet-opioids-061516.pdf. Accessed 21 Feb. 2017.

See also

Seeking addiction treatment can feel overwhelming. We know the struggle, which is why we're uniquely qualified to help.

Your call is confidential, and there's no pressure to commit to treatment until you're ready. As a voluntary facility, we're here to help you heal -- on your terms. Our sole focus is getting you back to the healthy, sober life you deserve, and we are ready and waiting to answer your questions or concerns 24/7.